What Are Some Popular Craft Beers?
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It would be easy to answer this question, by naming some of best known craft brands such as Brooklyn Brewery, Beavertown, Ballast Point or Whiplash, to name but a few. But each of these breweries brew many beers for different parts of the market.
Maybe a better way to address the question is to understand who is asking the question and why. It’s often asked by a retailer, be it in an off licence / bottle shop, bar or restaurant. But it might a misguided question as the outlet is simply looking a for an easy box tick solution for when a craft beer consumer is in the premises. This is selling yourself and your business short. To understand better, a little insight into the craft beer drinking phenomenon will go a long way.
Better to think of craft beer in the same way you’d think of wine; craft beer customers in the same light as wine customers. And instead of a grape type, think of a specific hop. Craft beer, its consumers, and the results sought from consuming a craft beer differ enormously from that of a traditional “mainstream” beer. Craft beer drinkers seek a more intense taste and flavour experience from their beer, rather than simply something to slake a thirst or wash down food.
The Most Popular Craft Beers:
Craft beers cover many styles of beer within the two major beer types: Lager and Ale.
Within the Lager category, the most popular craft beers are:
- Pilsner
- Lager
- Bock
- Doppelbock
- Marzen
- Baltic Porter
Within Ale, the most popular craft beers are:
- Pale Ale
- IPA
- Stout & Porter
- Wheat Ale
- Belgian Blonde
- Dubbel, Tripels & Quadrupels
- Saison
- and on into the sour beer spectrum, and many more.
Within every style there are sub-styles, but that would be too much to go into when trying to answer the basic question of what’s the most popular craft beer.
Within every style there are a huge number of breweries suppling their version of that style. And indeed, they supply one, sometimes two varieties of each of the many styles mentioned above, and with different hops. So now you understand that consumers of craft beer are looking for anything from a Pale Ale, an IPA, a Black Lager, a Sour, a Double IPA, a Stout, an Imperial Stout etc. depending on the their mood, the food they’re planning to eat, the season, their budget, and so on. The craft beer consumer often switches style on any given consumption occasion, and sometimes across styles on a single occasion, or across brands on a single occasion. They’re not necessarily always looking for a particular brand, but rather a style to suit what they want to taste at that moment.
Compare this to a mainstream brewer and beer drinker. The mainstream brewer produces a lager brand or a stout brand, with little variance in taste between the breweries. The mainstream beer drinker makes a brand call between the 5 or 6 options on the market, generally influenced by advertising. The mainstream beer drinker tends to favour one style and stick to it, and to one brand over many or indeed all consumption occasions.
So, serving the craft beer consumer is a more complex activity. It involves having a little more knowledge of the beers and stocking a variety of beers across a range of styles. But, why would a retailer do that if it involves carrying a wider range of beers and is a more time-consuming way to serve a beer customer, than simply having a couple of mainstream beers in their offering?
Craft beer drinkers tend to be more choosey, they’re often seeking more, a better experience. They spend more and the margins are higher for the retailer. They talk a lot, in person and on social media. They talk about enjoyable experiences they have when they buy a great beer to enjoy at home, or with food in a restaurant. Good word of mouth is an invaluable way to grow your business. Stocking craft beer allows you to vary your beer offering to account for the season and to include seasonal brews and one-off special brews to surprise and delight your customers. However, don’t be intimidated by what’s required. Your range can be clever so it doesn’t have to be overly extensive.
We supply bars, off licences, and restaurants throughout Ireland and can offer advice on the most appropriate range to stock. So, do you just want to know the bestselling craft beer to stock so that box is ticked? Or would you rather carry a small range and benefit properly from the craft beer revolution? Give us a call at Fourcorners and we can direct you towards a suitable range of beers for your outlet.
